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A new, future-focused engineering program — and the first in the nation at the undergraduate level — is being added to the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering following South Dakota Board of Regents approval in December. South Dakota State University officials are preparing to offer a Bachelor of Science in healthcare systems engineering beginning in fall 2025.

In the past two months, faculty from South Dakota State University's College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions have had eight articles published in peer-reviewed journals.

South Dakota State University pharmacy students outdid themselves in the 2024 North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination. Dan Hansen, dean of the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions, said 56 of the 59 Pharm.D. graduates took the exam in 2024, and all 56 passed on their first attempt, giving SDSU a 100% pass rate.

This edition of the SDSU College of Nursing’s newsletter is very much a story about the impact of nursing leadership. I often tell students that the beauty of a nursing degree is that you can go many different directions with it. In this issue, we highlight just a few of our leaders but know that there are many more of you out there!

We believe. During the six-plus years I’ve been in this role, meeting and getting to know so many of you, one of my favorite questions to ask is, “Why do you choose to support South Dakota State University and the College of Nursing?”

Fifty years ago, Lois Tschetter had just earned her bachelor’s degree from State and was working as staff nurse at Sioux Valley (now Sanford) Hospital in Sioux Falls. In that half century, Tschetter, 72, of Brookings, became recognized as one of the premier nurse educators in the state, especially in the fields of obstetrics and lactation.

Carol J. Peterson, truly a legend in South Dakota nursing education and higher education in general, was the inaugural recipient of the College of Nursing's Living Legacy Award at its 2024 scholarship banquet in Brookings.

Donations from two health care systems in South Dakota to the South Dakota State University College of Nursing are leaving an impact, improving spaces and demonstrating a commitment to training the future health care workforce.

Jessica Morrell, a Canton native who graduated from South Dakota State University with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1999, has had an impressive career trajectory. From working as a nurse in the U.S. Air Force to opening her own clinic, Morrell is passionate about aiding others.

Tera Gross didn’t enter school with the thought of becoming a leader. She just wanted to help people. But the positive example of her nurse manager in Gross’s first job after graduating from South Dakota State University in 2001 changed her trajectory. Today, Gross is the chief nursing officer for Mayo Clinic in Florida, in Jacksonville. She also is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, one of only few registered nurses at Mayo Clinic to hold this title.